Incipient
by ElephantsRTasty
Summary: Ren's always had voices in his mind, without a clue to where they came from. Nora is the only one who knows; they've been friends for their entire lives. So it's no surprise when Nora suggests they leave their homes in Vale behind to become huntsmen. Little do they know, however, that a defeated evil from years ago is about to rear its ugly head once again. [AU][Also on AO3]
1. Prologue, Part 1

Somewhere nearby, a young girl's scream of pain erupts. It's loud enough to pierce through the deafening thunder and roaring fires which have begun to encompass homes and shops, but is soon lost in the amplifying sounds of terror filling the night; almost instantly forgotten in the chaos. The White Fang Lieutenant, a burly and intimidating man, saunters out from around a corner, lugging his intricate greatsword around on his shoulders. Dark red blood is lightly smeared across its main blade, while a few of the smaller hooked points protruding from it continue to drip. As he joins the march, the Lieutenant quickly pulls out an already blood-stained cloth and quickly wipes off his greatsword, not wasting any time on intricately cleaning what will just become dirty again.

"Thought I might as well warm up," he grunts to the masked faunus next to him. He places his own mask back onto his face, hiding his scars and damaged eye, as his masked comrade draws his own sword at an agonizingly slow pace. The sound of metal sliding against metal fades together with the screeching.

Cinder rolls her eyes and furrows her eyebrows as she lights another building on fire and brushes her hair over her shoulder. A frightened family with two small children quickly exit the house, screaming. So much annoying screaming. "Do you always have to waste time like that, Adam?" she hisses, turning back to face the two White Fang members. The glass swords on her hips clink together, matching the sound of her glass shoes on the ground.

Adam shrugs, admiring his unique red blade. "I'll do it as long as he gets to waste time killing off annoying kids," he jokes dryly, gesturing to the Lieutenant. Cinder eyes the larger man with a slight annoyance, but she quickly turns back to look at the path ahead of her. She hears the other faunus, some cat girl Adam brought with him, exhale with exasperation behind them.

No huntsmen are headed their way yet, despite the entire western half of Vale's outskirts being on fire. _Ozpin just continues to fail again and again_ , she internally gloats. With a quick glance up to Vale Castle's tallest tower, Cinder sees that the characteristically sickening green glow from within still remains; a small shadow crosses within it and for a brief moment she thinks someone stands to watch the horror, but whatever moved quickly vanishes. _It won't be much time now._

Cinder quickly turns on her heel without warning and holds up her right hand, signaling her army to halt. Confused, frightened, and injured citizens continue to dash around them. Cinder pays them no attention and decides that this brief moment will be their one chance to flee and get help. It probably wouldn't do them any good, though.

She takes a deep breath. Smoke burns her throat, but the scorching almost feels good. It reminds her of the hunger she's felt for months.

"Everyone quiet down," Cinder orders. Without further coaxing, the army falls quiet immediately and all that can be heard is the crackling fire and distant rolls of thunder. "Huntsmen are about to appear, though that is no surprise. Stick to your assigned groups and leaders, taking your discussed paths through the town into the castle. Fight admirably, and you shall be rewarded. Some of you will die. But you will die to save your faunus brethren and advance whatever your personal causes and reasons for joining us may be. If anyone sees the Queen, Ozpin, or that sickly girl attempting to escape, alert me immediately." Cinder pauses, emotionlessly looking over her soldiers. Mercury, the assassin's child, watches her intently and looks ready to begin the mission. Emerald on the other hand allows her vision to dart around a bit too much, and Cinder reminds herself to speak with the girl when everything is over. "The Grimm will be here soon. Begin your assaults."

And with that, hundreds of White Fang members, underground criminals, and recruited huntsmen take off in several directions. Cinder turns around and takes her first step onto a maintained cobblestone road, noticing how far they've advanced in such a short time. Behind her, the strongest fighters follow with silent and deadly footsteps. Emerald, Mercury, the two White Fang higher ups, the quiet faunus girl, and a few supporting huntsmen watch Cinder, awaiting her specific instruction.

An angry cry breaks out nearby, and a few men with various weapons come running down the main road towards Cinder. She puts out a gentle hand to her side, signaling her soldiers to do nothing. The men continue to sprint closer, and Cinder steps carefully among the shoddy stonework so as not to get the heels of her shoes caught in a crack. hesitation in the men's shouts and knows that they are confused by her behavior.

She looks up at them, only a few steps away now, and her orange eyes begin to glow their menacing yellow hue. One of the men almost trips with surprise. The closest one to Cinder now raises his axe, preparing for a close fight, but Cinder instead immediately knocks all of the men backwards onto the road with a single blast of fire. Their weapons scatter across the ground, and the men groan in agony as they attempt to stand again. Cinder bows her head to them, and gestures to those behind her to do their jobs.

Cinder keeps on walking ahead, ignoring the sounds of death behind her. It's not that difficult; she's heard so many of those sounds that they've almost become normal. Giant Nevermores call in the distance, but before she can turn to watch the creatures arrive and see her handiwork finally come to fruition, two more men come rushing at her.

"Lieutenant! Take care of these ones for me," Cinder calls out, noticing that the two men must be related. One is older, with graying hair, but they both have blondish hair and blue-gray eyes. _They must be a father and grandfather attempting to protect their family. How pitifully weak they are_.

On cue, the White Fang Lieutenant launches himself at the two frail men, immediately knocking them against a wall with his greatsword. They crash against the wall and crumple to the ground, but barely a moment passes before they're hit again... and again. Cinder guesses their auras are almost depleted just due to how much force the Lieutenant can put into his attacks, because they're both already groaning with agony. He digs the many pointed edges of his sword into their necks, the greatsword being big enough to handle both men at once.

Just as the two men's auras deplete at the same moment, both of them glowing a distinct golden yellow color, a woman jumps out from a doorway holding only a small knife. She is about the same age as the younger of the two men, and her arms shake as she points the knife at the Lieutenant. Her eyes dash between Cinder and her target, but when he grabs the younger of the two men by the neck and holds him up, choking him, the woman shakes even more and can't take her eyes off who Cinder assumes to be her husband.

The Lieutenant throws the young man into the air with one hand and continues to hold his greatsword in his other. The next moment almost happens in slow motion, as the woman drops her knife, begins to shout, and runs towards her falling husband. Before she can get anywhere close enough, the Lieutenant swings his sword around with a flash. The brilliant metal reflects the orange flames around them, but the reflection is quickly dulled by the younger man's blood. The woman stops in her tracks and collapses in shock as her husband's head rolls across the ground towards her. She jumps back in shock, silently crying, her mouth open in a shout that nobody can hear. Her trembling becomes spasms.

The White Fang Lieutenant kicks the decapitated body aside as he grabs the older man, who had attempted to crawl away, and runs his pronged sword through his chest. The older man dies almost instantly, though his body becomes mangled as the Lieutenant attempts to rip it off of the sword's many bladed hooks. The woman's dead eyes see everything, but she cannot do anything.

However, as soon as she is approached, she grabs her knife and scrambles up to her feet, jumping back as far as she can. Soon, she begins to glow in a pale yellow light, similar to that of the auras of her two fallen family members. Cinder watches with interest, leaning against a nearby wall that has not yet fallen.

As the White Fang Lieutenant gets close to the woman, she begins to shout in anguish and sprint towards him, knife clenched tightly between her shaking hands like how a hawk would grasp its prey with an unrelenting grip. Her effort is meaningless; the Lieutenant dodges her initial attack easily and slips behind her, making him able to grab her from behind. He uses his free hand to grab her by the neck and hold her up in the air. The yellow glow of her outward aura begins to fade and the knife slips out of her hand.

"Don't waste so much time. We've got a castle to take," Cinder calls out. The Lieutenant nods and throws the woman against a wall, causing her to cry out in pain once again. Cinder turns to look at the castle's green tower again. As before, a small shadow occupies a space in the faint green light, but Cinder blinks and it is gone. She hisses under her breath.

"What have you _done_?!" Yet another tortured scream. Cinder almost doesn't hear it; she's become used to these noises of destruction so quickly she almost surprises herself. She turns slowly, fingers playing with a flame that she summons in her hand. What is truly surprising though is who stands in front of her.

A young boy, probably not much older than fifteen, stands outside a doorway and watches as his mother's mangled and torn body falls to the ground. Cinder waves the Lieutenant away, signaling him to continue their main mission and not waste anymore time with this family. He slowly nods, and jogs away. It's only then that Cinder notices that the boy carries a large sword and shield, both much too large for his scrawny body type. His arms shake with the physical and mental weight of the situation around him, and sweat drips down his face, visible in the flickering lights from the fire around them.

"Your hair is a nice yellow, just like your mother's aura," Cinder comments, causing the boy to gasp and turn to look at her.

"Did you do this?" he shouts, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. They quickly mix with the sweat on his face and disappear.

Cinder doesn't reply, and continues to admire the fire in her hand.

"Why? Why are you destroying everything? Why did you murder my family? Why? I'm going to kill you!"

"That's a big declaration from such a scrawny boy," Cinder comments. She extinguishes the flame in her hand. "The Grimm will be here soon. Are you sure you want to sit here and act like a valiant huntsman? You want to stand here and die? Don't you just want to _run_?" The boy stands up a bit straighter and glances towards the doorway he emerged from, which Cinder notices. "Ah, so you still have family left. You want to protect them. I'd advise you to run, though. It would be foolish to stay here and try to stand up to me. I could kill you right now." She glances into the sky, and sees a few Griffons flying in from the south. "Or, if you'd prefer, a Grimm could."

The boy takes a step forward. "I'm not running from you. I will protect them."

Cinder readjusts her stance and her eyes begin to glow yellow. She inwardly groans at the hunger that's been residing within her for the several months she's possessed only half of the maiden's power. "I don't have time for this. You are nothing to me. Have you accepted your death?"

He doesn't reply, and simply raises his sword and shield with shaking arms. Cinder rolls her eyes. Before the boy can even blink, she knocks them out of his grip by frightening him with fire sent at his face. _He dropped them just out of fear. Pathetic_. He shields his face from the fire with the arm that previously held the shield before he realizes what has happened. When the fire is gone, the boy opens his eyes and sees that his weapons have clattered to the cobblestone road beneath his feet. Frantically, he goes to grab them, but Cinder knocks him to the ground with another fire blast, this one slightly more forceful.

"You want to protect your family? _Run_. This is your last chance." Cinder didn't really know why she was offering the child one last, final chance before killing him off, but she did know that she was definitely wasting time. When the boy attempts to get to his feet, she quickly walks up to him and kicks him square in the jaw, forcing him back down to the ground.

The boy clenches his jaw with his hand and writhes in pain, quickly trying to crawl away from Cinder. "Never," he whispers. His leg muscles tense, and Cinder immediately knows he will try to kick her feet out from under her. As his leg moves, Cinder reaches for one of the swords on her hip and bats his leg away with it.

A Giant Nevermore shrieks overhead, followed by the calls of a few others who begin to assemble in the sky above. Cinder looks down at the boy beneath her and places a firm foot across his chest, making sure the heel digs into his chest where his heart is. She looks into his watery and fearful eyes before summoning every bit of power she has within her and focusing a wild discharge of fire into his face. He attempts to get away, but Cinder puts more pressure on his chest and his efforts are futile.

It's taking a bit longer than usual to break the child's aura, and Cinder almost stops and walks away from him; but as she ends her fiery assault his aura appears and fades over his body, signifying the loss of his protective force. Her heel breaks the skin and sinks into his chest, causing him to cry out with a choked voice and cough up a bit of blood. This scene, surrounded by the burning city and gathering Grimm, is enough to reignite Cinder's drive. She holds her glass sword above the boy's heart and removes the glass heel of her shoe from his chest, causing him to cough again.

The gray color of the translucent sword glints in the firelight as Cinder thrusts it into the boy's chest in one swift movement. Blood flows. He tries to gasp for air, but Cinder punctured one of his lungs. As Cinder twists the sword around, the boy's eyes fade and become glossy. The tenseness of his muscles fades, giving way to a limp and lifeless body. She takes out her sword and places it back on her hip, not even bothering to clean the blade.

"I told you to run."


	2. Prologue, Part 2

Cinder turns away from the deceased boy and takes a few steps toward the castle, having decided to leave his eyelids open and exposed to the elements. Something feels wrong. A quick turn back around reveals that nobody is there, and all she can see is smoke, fire, and the body of a dead kid. Strange chilling sensations run down her spine despite the hot air around her and goosebumps cover her arms. Cinder rubs her arms furiously to rid her skin of the annoying bumps and turns away from the dead boy for the last time.

"Chaos" is the only way to describe the scene on the main road, and it's the first word Cinder thinks of when she turns a corner and witnesses her many hours of planning finally taking place in the real world. The second word she thinks of is "beautiful."

Retrieving her double glass swords from her hip, Cinder finds her gaze floating back up towards the green light in the tower. For the third time, a small shadow crosses through the windows but is gone so quickly that Cinder isn't even sure she saw it this time. _What is he planning?_ She thinks to herself, forcing her gaze back down to the scene unfolding around her.

Fire has spread along the main road now, enveloping a majority of the homes and shop buildings that line the streets. There are no citizens left, and the only things in the street are dead bodies, evaporating Grimm, and sizzling burnt rubble. The smell of blood mixes with the stench of smoke, creating an atmosphere that feels thick like syrup. The army had converged to the main road and intercepted the largest forces of huntsmen some time ago, Cinder guesses. She's just about to join in and lead her followers when a Griffon Grimm dives for her from the sky.

It comes at her with amazing speed, but Cinder is faster. She backflips out of the way from where the Griffon is aiming, and when she comes out of the flip and stands up again the creature is staring her in the face. It jumps at her with it's mouth wide open, but a quick slash with one of the glass swords beheads the creature. Its sizzling and evaporating body skids across the ground, eventually coming to stop for a brief moment before it's completely gone. It's as if it had never existed.

 _Something's wrong_. Cinder's head is suddenly full of the short sentence repeating itself over and over, and Cinder even finds her vision blurry for a moment before she shakes her head violently and focuses back on the terror around her. Even though the frustrating mantra is gone, she still feels like something - a partially concealed presence, perhaps - is lurking around.

A loud roar erupts from up ahead, and Cinder sees a second wave of huntsmen emerge from the shadows of vacated buildings. She notices two things. Immediately, Cinder first notices that the group is rather small, and she smirks to herself, knowing that Ozpin's pathetic army is already on its last legs. But the second realization comes a split moment later, when some of the taller huntsmen begin to take off in different directions, revealing what is behind them.

 _Children_. The word flashes through Cinder's consciousness like a bolt of lightning, striking her every sense and fiber of her body. _Ozpin's students._ That is the only explanation for the group of youths charging at the invaders, weapons drawn and mouths open with shouts. Cinder almost feels relieved, but for what exactly, she doesn't know. A teenager not much older than the boy she had murdered just minutes earlier lunges at her, a golden colored arrow already flying at her from his golden bow. Cinder's reaction time is slow but she leaps back from the line of damage and watches the arrow tear through the air where she had been not a split second before.

The boy desperately reaches for another arrow, choosing to not get too close to Cinder, but in that time Cinder lunges at him, fire trickling out of her fingers. _I've had enough of this already_. She reaches the boy before the arrow is locked into his bow and swings a fiery punch straight up into his lower jaw. His body is shot back several feet and he skids to a stop against the cobblestone. Cinder turns away from him without another glance, and continues marching toward the castle. Nobody attempts to attack her.

Now ignoring all the unimportant distractions around her, Cinder turns and crouches inside an alleyway between two stone buildings to assess her group's progress. She estimates that by now, about half of Vale's buildings should be destroyed and a majority of Ozpin's pathetic forces depleted. She can't see the green tower from her position, but she imagines that the devilish shadow still stands within it.

A burst of red suddenly engulfs Cinder's surroundings and her body becomes encased in a deep black color. Cinder only has a brief moment to grunt annoyedly to herself before it's gone and an injured huntress collapses near the entrance to the alleway.

The woman has striking black hair and blue eyes, but what Cinder notices first is the saturated blue glow of her aura surrounding her left leg; or, what's left of it. A short stump remains where her leg had been only moments before. Her eyes slowly shut, but the view is blocked by two figures who jump into the alleyway with Cinder.

Adam and his cat girl friend, the name of which Cinder never bothered learning, put their backs to the wall and breathe heavily. Cinder can tell that the pair knows Cinder is standing there as well, but none of the three acknowledge each other. Adam was not one for conversation and the faunus girl had never looked trustworthy or loyal enough to even introduce one's self to. Cinder briefly wonders why she's even here.

Soon Adam and the girl exit the alleyway, leaving Cinder alone again. For the first time, she looks towards the other end of the alleyway. It points vaguely in the direction of the castle and seems to lead to a completely deserted street. Cinder decides that the rest of her mission would be best done alone, and she takes off running.

The road and buildings on it are completely deserted and mostly intact, as the original route of invasion had ignored this street completely. The green tower appears closer now, and Cinder follows the road in that direction, keeping her eyes on the glowing light and looking for who, or what, could have been standing there before.

The road dead-ends into a circular clearing, which looks like it could have held a market or large gathering party in its better days. It is eerily quiet back here, and Cinder almost has to strain her ears to make sure the invasion is still proceeding. The cobblestone and the buildings almost melt together in their gray, monotone appearance. The only thing that stands out is a marvelous white statue of a winged woman that stands in the middle of a fountain; her facial features are soft but strong - her pose welcoming but authoritative. The sight makes Cinder feel at ease.

Blindness. It's the first thing Cinder's body registers. But it's not dark, it's actually the brightest white Cinder's ever experienced, and it fills her vision. She even closes her eyes but it does nothing.

Pain is the second thing Cinder feels. Her body is on fire. It feels like someone is peeling the meat off her bones. Cinder's arms clutch themselves in a frivolous attempt to protect herself. Her head begins to throb with pain from the brightness that she can't escape.

Cinder's legs give from beneath her and her face slams into the hard, stone ground. For the first time in a long time, Cinder is afraid. Afraid that the mission would fail without her. Afraid that if she survives, she'll be punished.

Afraid that she'll die.

 _This is the beginning of the end_. Cinder gathers up all her strength as she remembers the daunting words spoken to her not long before the invasion.

 _I thought you were the girl who wanted power_. She did. She _does_.

 _Did you lie to me_?

"NO!" Cinder lets out the loudest scream in her entire life, and using what limited power she has, sends a fiery projectile in the general direction of the light source.

Everything goes quiet and for a moment Cinder thinks she really is dead. That is, until the white light begins to fade and the agonizing pain on her skin retreats back to whatever cavern of hell it came from. Cinder grasps at her face with her trembling hands to make sure everything is intact, but is stopped mid-motion when her vision returns and she sees the scene in front of her.

Directly above the statue of the winged woman floats another woman shroud in a hooded white cloak. More of that devilish white light appears to seep out from her eyes, and with a terrified feeling Cinder remembers. Remembers what _she_ is. A silver-eyed warrior. Several moments pass and Cinder can do nothing but stare at the woman. She has short, dark hair and wears a simple black outfit under her white cloak. Around Cinder's age, the woman looks as if she's been fighting for decades. Her hair and clothing billow in the smoky wind but her gaze is stoic and unmoving.

When the woman's eyes begin to fill up with light, Cinder's body seems to move of its own accord, making her stand and ready herself for battle. It's seemingly all for nothing, however, because as soon as she is on her feet, a lightning fast bolt of light hits Cinder square in the chest, sending her flying backwards into a stone wall. The stones crack beneath the pressure and Cinder's head is bashed against the hard surface. As the light disappears, Cinder catches her breath and looks around for some type of diversion to buy her time.

She sends a dense projectile at the winged sculpture in the fountain, shattering the intricately carved stone and sending its shards flying in every direction. The fountain's water source is disrupted as well and water shoots up into the air. The water, shards of stone, and smoke drifting through the air cover the floating attacker and for a moment she is invisible.

In "life or death mode," Cinder turns to the nearest glass window and breaks it her her hand, causing it to shatter into several razor-sharp pieces. She activates her semblance for the first time in awhile, sending the glass pieces into a frenzied dance around her. As the white woman comes back into view from the cloud of debris, Cinder launches the glass at her opponent at frightening speeds.

However, only a few pieces hit the woman, as she slowly rises higher in the air and the light around her grows brighter. Fierce tongues of it leap out of her eyes and Cinder barely counters it with a less than effective burst of fire. The two substances clash in the air, creating sparks and hissing noises, but the white quickly overpowers the orange. Before Cinder can leap out of the way, some of it grazes her shoulder. She thinks she hears her own skin sizzle as it happens, but she also hears one more thing: shattering glass.

Not missing a beat, Cinder uses her semblance again and creates a large ball of glass above her head. It's immediately sent flying at the hovering woman who attempts to counter with a blast of white light; anticipating this move, Cinder keeps the shards moving and most of them actually make contact with the woman. The woman is surprised the the projectiles actually hit her, and the combination of that surprise and the force of the attack sends her toppling to the ground on the opposite side of the courtyard.

 _Where is everyone?_ A quick glance at her surroundings tells Cinder that nobody is around besides her and her opponent. Even the air feels thinner, as if there is less smoke, and the sky's blood-orange tint seems to have faded. _Is it failing? Why isn't anyone helping me?_

Before the silver-eyed warrior picks herself up from the ground, Cinder picks up pieces of debris from the ground around her and throws them at every glass window she can find. She breaks the last one just as the other woman begins to get up. As fast as she can, Cinder gathers the glass around her, pleased with the large amount, and forms them into deadly sharp arrows. She loads them all at once into her bow, formed from the two glass swords at her hip joined together.

Cinder lets the arrows fly, knowing that they all won't just crowd together by flying in the same direction. Using her semblance once again, she sends them in a variety of directions, and saves a few for a surprise attack. The woman can't dodge all of them, much to Cinder's delight; about a third of them make contact and the others are decimated by well-timed bursts of white light. It's only then Cinder realizes she's been making a bad mistake.

 _Dammit!_ She's used her semblance too much, and at this point her aura is likely to be depleted enough to leave her vulnerable. _I better use those extra arrows soon..._. She briefly wonders how much aura her opponent has left, but her train of thought is cut off when something unimaginable happens.

The silver-eyed warrior begins to form something in her hand. Light pours out from her eyes and down her arm, and she begins to levitate again. Cinder watches with horror as the new figure begins to take shape.

 _A... scythe?_ It's gigantic, the main blade even larger than a Griffon. It glows with such ferocity that Cinder feels afraid again. The woman wields it in her left hand, holding it by its thin snath; it looked so fragile. If the weapon were real and physical, it would fall apart before getting to be used.

Cinder assumes that the creation of this weapon signals a coming end to the battle. Keeping her burning gaze locked with the other's steely and luminous one, Cinder sends the last few arrows from the shadows whistling through the air. They make contact, but shatter almost immediately upon contact with aura into thousands of glistening pieces that almost look like stars in the night sky.

But as these pieces fall, something else begins to move: the scythe. The blade is raised into the air in a backswing, creating contrast between the stark white of the weapon and the dark night sky. Cinder registers its every movement, but finds it difficult to decide what to do.

 _Do I run? Do I fight?_ Cinder knows that her power is limited, and she mentally curses the huntsman that had interrupted the fight that fateful day. But even considering her condition, Cinder finds that she can't run away. She tries to move, tries to turn away, but her focus stays solely on the spectacle in front of her. _Is this some kind of mind trick? If only Emerald were here_...

The scythe pauses at the end of its backwards trajectory, and Cinder knows her only option is to fight. There's nothing she could do at this point besides use whatever she has left, so that's exactly what she does.

If anyone had been watching what happened next, had they blinked, it would have been over. But for Cinder, it felt like an eternity of hell. The scythe flew through the air at an agonizingly slow pace, headed directly for Cinder's torso. A dense ball of flame formed in Cinder's hand.

The weapon inched closer. The fire grew stronger.

 _Still too weak._ But there was nothing else to do.

As the scythe blade reached Cinder's body, she sent what she believed was the strongest attack she could muster soaring out of her right palm. She didn't get to see if it made contact, however.

Her vision had already gone white.


	3. Chapter 1

Serene was the only way to describe it. A fresh, cool breeze that carried the anticipation of winter with it, swirling and dancing through the garden. The soft, rustling leaves that grew slightly more yellow each day but still held tightly to the entangled branches. Soft bubbling noises from the nearby stream flowed and bounced within the garden's walls, echoing seemingly for infinity. It was the closest one could get to Heaven on Remnant.

A few birds and butterflies fluttered across the garden, weaving in and out between tree branches and flower patches. They appeared to be playing, but it was probably more like a hunt for the birds and a desperate escape for the butterflies. Still, everything was quiet and peaceful as they darted around. Nature was normal. Everything was normal.

" _I think this is a little abnormal. What about you?"_

" _Well, based on all that we know, I would have to agree with you."_

Lie Ren's mouth flashed a tiny smirk before returning to its stoic, unwavering state. He was getting distracted, again, but this time he was determined to not let it get to him. They always tried stuff like that, interrupting his methodic thought process with their own smart remarks. Sometimes Ren wished he could shut them up so they would let him meditate in peace and quiet for once. In any case, they remained quiet after the second comment, and Ren decided to use every second of quiet to his advantage.

First, he stilled his body. Located and relaxed each muscle, knees sinking lower in his lotus position. He sat up a bit straighter, noticing that the leaves of the lowest branches lightly brushed across the top of his head. When had he grown that tall? The palms of his hands slowly turned skyward, and he took a short moment to admire the sunlight's dance on his pale skin before slowly closing his eyes. Deep breaths cleared his lungs and steadied his mind.

If they started talking again, Ren didn't notice. Maybe he'd gotten much better at ignoring them for all these years? No, that wasn't quite it. It was more of Ren still heard them, but was able to keep himself from responding, giving them more reason to bother him, and keep himself from losing his focus. It was probably bound to happen eventually; with them stuck in his head for his entire life, it was only natural that he could ignore them, right?

" _You're losing focus again."_ Damn it. He just wanted them to be quiet for a few minutes.

Ren continued to meditate as best as he could. Today, he wanted to continue searching for his semblance; this ever-elusive power that he supposedly had somewhere inside him. Some days, he felt as if he was on the brink of discovery, like he was balancing on the edge of cliff that dropped off into a tumultuous sea. He had pulled himself from the dark and swirling waters and began a journey up the cliff. No ropes, no anything to catch his fall. But as he neared the top of the cliff, two things awaited him: a world of knowledge and discovery, and...

" _She's here."_

Ren sighed inwardly, knowing that if Nora was here already here, there would be no more meditation for the day. Unless, of course, it was one of those rare days where Nora wouldn't want to go exploring or spend their hours reading the vast library of books and texts kept away in Ren's home. At this point, Ren wondered why Nora still lived somewhere else...

A sudden rustling overhead called Ren even further out of his meditative state, as he could tell Nora was engaging in yet another futile attempt to scare her friend. She had tried it all before; leaping over the wall with a ferocious roar, dumping a bucket of cold water right over his head, pretending to be a thief invading his home. Ren admired Nora for her determination to such a funny little task. This time, Ren decided to do nothing but silently follow her movements. She was clambering around in the tree above him, slowly getting closer.

Nora soon climbed closer to where Ren sat, and Ren could tell that the girl was hanging down right in front of his face. Her soft hair brushed across his bare forearms and it both startled him and calmed him. Her warm breath tickled his face. She smelled like cinnamon...

" _Tell her!"_ Not a chance.

Ren waited a beat or two before snapping his eyes open. He had prepared his body for a playful lunge, but upon opening his eyes, he saw that she was incredibly close to his face with her right pointer finger almost touching his nose. This stilled him, and the two companions stayed still as if neither knew what was transpiring.

Ren moved first, just making himself more comfortable, but this surprised Nora and she fell out of the tree, ungracefully landing upside-down on her upper back, legs dangling in the air. Her skirt began to fall from her knees, and Ren looked away.

"Crazy Thursday, huh?" Nora chirped cheerfully through a wincing face, sitting up and adjusting her skirt. Her face was pink with physical activity and... that was probably it. She brushed some leaves off her torso and started to run her fingers through her slightly disheveled hair. Ren watched her and spotted one or two leaves stay stuck in her hair. Should he reach out and grab them?

" _Do it!"_

" _Okay, come on, leave the poor boy alone this once. Don't want to be stuck here seeing him be all awkward like it always happens."_

He restrained himself and settled for watching her from afar as she found the leaves herself and pulled them out of her hair. She took a deep breath, taking in the fresh garden air before turning her full attention back to Ren.

"Discover your semblance yet?" Ren shook his head. "Well, just keep working at it! I know you'll discover it any day now!" She was always so chipper, even when she had plenty of reason not to be. Not that this moment was a reason. Just given their early lives, Ren was often grateful that Nora had elected to be so positive. "I'm so incredibly bored today. That's why I came over early. I know you like meditating and all that boring stuff but, come on, don't you want some type of adventure? I mean, the best days are when we go into Forever Fall or some other exotic place, right?"

Ren sighed and a soft smile came to rest on his lips. "Forever Fall is not exotic. You want exotic, go to Vacuo." Nora rolled her eyes and rubbed her neck.

"Okay, fine, Forever Fall is not exotic. But come on, Ren, at least acknowledge it's somewhat more novel than a place like the city center of Vale! All they have here is bread stands and textile stands and all that boring stuff. You know what they have in Forever Fall? Big forests! Trees that are always red! Isn't red an exotic color?" Nora paused to take a breath, since she had a bad habit of not breathing in between sentences. Ren chuckled to himself. "Ren, we've been stuck just hanging around here for our entire lives, don't you want to go out and accomplish something? No, that's a rhetorical question. I know you do! Some rich kid who lives in what is basically a castle with a bunch of servants tending to his every need doesn't have to bother trying to figure out his semblance or learn combat from his eccentric, electrifying friend now, hm?" She took another big gulp of air.

Ren laughed a bit louder and stood up, extending his hand to Nora, who also stands. "Nora, you're right. I do think I want to go out and do something –" he's cut off by an incredulous look from Nora. "Fine. I do want to go out and explore Remnant. Get better at fighting. Find my semblance. Whatever you want to add in there, I'll do. But can I really just leave this place? What if someone here needs me? What if there's an attack? What if my parents..."

For the first time since falling on her neck, Nora's face houses a frown. "What if your parents come back?" Ren nodded. "Ren, they've been gone for ten years. I don't know what happened to them, but if they're still out there, don't you want to try and find them?"

" _Come on, Ren! You owe it to yourself, you owe it to us. Let's go somewhere, do something!"_ Ren frowned, disliking the idea that he owed anything to _them_. Certainly, it wasn't Ren's fault he was like this and he hoped it wasn't their fault they were stuck with him. If they were different people at all. And it wasn't as if they were parasites, eating away at his life force. All Ren knew was that ever since he could remember, there were voices in his head that weren't his and he had no control over them. He didn't owe anything to them, but if they continued to nag Ren about this and that, he would likely eventually give in to them.

Nora blinked as if she's realizing something. "They're bothering you about this aren't they?" Ren nodded again. "Come on then, Ren! Everyone wants you to go!" A smile returned to her bright face.

"Fine, fine. What are we doing?"

Nora spoke immediately. "Let's become huntsmen! It would be so great if we did, can you imagine it? We could kill any type of Grimm and fight bad guys and protect people and explore Remnant without having to worry about anything! We could earn money so easily and have fun with it and work together as partners. We would be the unstoppable duo!"

Ren gently shook his head. "You know I don't have the health, and definitely not the stamina to become a huntsman. I would probably just weigh you down in a fight."

Nora crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out. "You can't deny that you want to do it. And hey, if you don't like being 'watched over' or 'protected' then you just have to work hard enough until you feel like you could go out on your own. Come on, Ren! We could kill lots of birds with one stone if we really wanted to! Find your parents, travel the world, find out why there are voices in your head, you name it! I'm sure becoming huntsmen will allow us to do anything we put our minds to." She took a few steps towards Ren and casually draped her arms around his torso. Ren's face grew warm. "Ren, I know you want to be able to do these things on your own. And you will. It will just take time and practice." She dropped her arms and looked up at him. When had she grown taller too? "I know we can do it if we stick together. It hasn't failed us yet, has it?"

Pale green light flooded from tinted glass windows into the vast hallways of Ren's parents' grand estate as the young man slowly made his away around it, gathering various belongings he would need on his journey with Nora. For years, the place had been so empty and lonely in Ren's mind. It was still larger than it needed to be when Ren's parents had been here; for a moment, Ren's mind toyed with the idea of a bright, lively house where he could have had siblings. What would be different now if that were the case?

Li and An Ren had been influential nobles in the kingdom of Vale before they went on a diplomatic trip to Haven from which they would never return; nobody knew if they had even made it to Haven in the first place. A month or so after they had failed to return, other Vale noblemen had named Lie Ren the successor to the estate, all its lands, and the family's duties. Still, he was just a child, and upon seeing the chronic distress in him, the Vale council elected one of the high-ranking servants to serve in Ren's place. After meeting Nora, he had begun to recover, but was never the same lively boy he had been

Ren had loved his parents, and his parents had loved him too. So why would they not return? The only answer could be that they were dead.

He had never told his parents about the voices in his head, because the voices themselves told Ren to never tell anyone. Why, he never got out of them. Perhaps they weren't sure themselves. But after meeting Nora, a girl whose parents had died fighting in the huge fire of Vale that happened the night of Ren's birth, he found it difficult to hide anything from her. Maybe they were kindred spirits, drawn together by some reason or another. That part wasn't important. The only thing that mattered was that they stayed together, protected each other, learned from each other, and probably couldn't live without the other.

Ren first made his way up the grand, emerald green staircase and took the right turn towards his room. He grabbed a few bags of gold and silver Lien coins, a thick woollen blanket, a fur lined cloak, two intricately decorated green daggers from his father, and a large knapsack before taking one last look around his room. He almost left without another thought, but then he spotted it: an old, dusty book lying under an old pile of parchment documents. Upon further inspection, he saw the gold and pink designs dancing across the front cover and remembered it immediately. Stashing it inside his bag, he headed back down the stairs towards the kitchens. They were probably only going to Vale... but who knew where their travels would take them?

"Go get more hot water," a voice called out from a room Ren had just passed. Stopping and turning back, Ren sawlight coming through the doorway leading to the servants' quarters. Suddenly, a servant burst through the door, almost knocking Ren off of his feet.

"Sir! I'm terribly sorry. Please excuse me!" And with a short, hurried bow of the head, the uniformed girl rushed off to the kitchens. Confused, Ren was stuck standing there for a few moments. Peering in through the doorway, he saw several servants standing around one of the beds, murmuring in hushed voices. Quickly, the servant from before rushed back into the room, carrying a bowl of steaming water. She shut the door behind her, and Ren was alone again.

Entering the kitchens, Ren quickly grabbed a few pieces of fruit and bread before filling up two waterskins. Stuffing all of this inside is bag and tying it closed, Ren stopped for a moment and turned to look at the kitchen. A memory flashed through his mind; him and his mother, chopping vegetables from the garden as his father comes in with a big smile, a freshly killed goose in hand. Snow softly fell outside as the family prepared a holiday meal with each other. Ren shook his head and turned to leave.

By the time Ren sauntered through the estate's gatehouse, Nora appeared over the hill, running towards him, burdened with her own bags upon her back. This didn't seem to burden her, however. Nothing so little as a heavy bag would hold Nora down. She was always brimming with strength and energy, and Ren really, truly admired her. Nora was the strongest person he knew.

" _You don't know that many people."_ Of course, Ren knew that too. But still... something about her led Ren to believe that she was stronger than most others. There was one thing he didn't know about her, though.

"If we're going to become huntsmen and work together, you should probably tell me your semblance," Ren called out as Nora got closer. She skidded to a halt on the dirt road and gave Ren a stern but playful look.

"I've told you a hundred times, Ren! I can't show it to you until the time is right." She adjusted her bag on her shoulders and lightly punched Ren in the arm when he started to make a pouting face. In what seemed like a split second decision, Nora reached for Ren's ponytail and snagged the leather tie on her pinky finger. She quickly pulls it out of Ren's hair, the leather tie quickly sliding off. Ren's long black hair immediately caught in the breeze and covered his face. "Come on, let's go!" Nora laughed, skipping ahead. After a few moments, she stopped and turned to look back at Ren, who continued to walk at his own leisurely pace, trying to brush his hair out of his eyes, a soft grin on his face.

" _Oh my god, dude. You're going on an adventure with your lover!"_ Ren's positive expression fell and he groaned inwardly at the continued presence of the voices. Nora was not his lover; nothing of the sort. They were good friends. Nothing else.

" _Stop lying to yourself. We're a part of you and trust us... we know how you feel."_ While Ren always wished he could be normal, these were the times where Ren really wished he could be. He basically had two other people inside him, who could think and speak for themselves, knew everything Ren knew, and they just happened to remind Ren of their presences when he least wanted it.

"Nora!" In an attempt to make them shut up, Ren decided to take charge of the situation. Nora cocked her head questioningly, and Ren jogged up to her. "Thanks. Thanks for making me come along. I would've never decided to do something like this if it weren't for you."

The orange-haired girl's face grew pink and she shrugged. "I knew that if I bothered you about it long enough, there wouldn't be a problem. If I left Vale anyway, you would probably tag along." She technically wasn't incorrect. The two continued to walk in silence for a few minutes, and Ren couldn't tell if it was awkward or not. If Nora felt any awkwardness, she didn't show it; but Ren knew what to talk about anyway.

"Did you bring it?"

Nora scoffed. "Is that even a question? The only place I don't bring it with me is your house." She pat the large bag upon her shoulders and dulled metallic noise could be heard. The thing weighed so much that Ren could rarely ever build up enough strength to even drag it around, which made Ren admire her even more for her strength. She turns back to Ren. "Did you bring yours?"

He nodded. "You know they won't count in the real world, though." The daggers that his father had given him suddenly felt heavy in Ren's bag.

"You'll have time to find or make a better weapon. I don't think we'll be fighting in a big war where real weapons are necessary any time soon. At least you know how to use them well. I'm sure the right weapon for you will come along when you least expect it. It's like an extension of yourself! Work towards who you want to become and one day it'll present itself to you on a silver platter or something. Thats practically what happened to me!"

Right. Keep moving forward; no turning back now. They had already taken the first step.


End file.
